Preface

The panel that produced this report met in Papua New Guinea in May 1981. Its purpose was to consider the principles of the Papua New Guinea crocodile farming program and their implications for economic development and for the management and survival of crocodilians elsewhere.

Crocodiles are an integral part of the tropical fauna; they are ecologically important, biologically interesting, and, potentially, a renewable natural resource of considerable economic value. The panel hopes that through this report the possibility of saving and managing this animal throughout the tropics can be better assessed.

Members of the panel consulted officials of the Ministry of Wildlife and Conservation in Port Moresby and visited crocodile farms in Moitaka, Popondetta, and Lae. The panel is grateful to Karol Kisokau, Navu Kwapena, and Miro Laufa of the Division of Wildlife for arranging its itinerary and visits in Papua New Guinea. It also wishes to thank Yano Belo, Minister of Environment, for hosting an evening social at the Moitaka crocodile farm; Greg Mitchell and his wife Judy, who entertained the panel at their home in Lae and conducted a tour of their company's crocodile farm; and Wassam and Carol Gabara who acted as guides and hosts in Popondetta.

The Advisory Committee on Technology Innovation (ACTI) of the Board on Science and Technology for International Development, National Research Council, is assessing scientific and technological advances that might prove especially applicable to problems of developing countries. This report is one of a series that explores promising areas of science previously unknown, neglected, or overlooked. Current titles in the ACT! series on Managing Tropical Animal Resources include:

· Water Buffalo: New Prospects for an Underutilized Animal (1981)

· Little-Known Asian Animals with a Promising Economic Future (1983)

· Crocodiles as a Resource for the Tropics (1983)

· Butterfly Farming in Papua New Guinea (1983)

These activities are supported largely by the U.S. Agency for International Development (AID). Program costs for this study were sponsored by AID'S Bureau for Asia, and staff costs by AID'S Office of the Science Advisor, which also made possible the free distribution of this report.